Jealousy
by Lynlyn-maru
Summary: Team INOSHIKACHOU are sent on an assination mission, mostly involving Ino. How will Shikamaru react when she won't tell him what happened? InoxShika COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

I've been thinking about this fic nonstop for the past week. (Yes, I've been working that long!)

Just to give you a little heads up here; Shikamaru's a jounin and Ino and Chouji are both Chuunin, All of them are around 18-19. Niomi is my own character, I even spelled it weird for originality!

I apologize for anything you don't like, this is just the way my twisted mind sees things. Enjoy!

* * *

Jealousy

Chapter 1-

It was about noon and Shikamaru lie in his usual spot on his cloud-watching hill, participating in his favorite pastime. The air was warm, with only a slight breeze blowing, the day could not have possibly been more perfect, and he couldn't be more happy.

The clouds are nice and fluffy, no missions, no mom, no chores, no nothing. Nothing could possibly ruin this day.' He thought, taking in a deep breath of the fresh air and relaxing into the grass more...reveling in his fortunate solitude.

…Until he noticed the shadow looming over him, blocking his view. He focused his eyes on his intruder. Or intruders in this case.

'_Fuck._' Was his only thought as he gathered the identity of this person above him.

"Shikamaru! What the hell are you doing! We have a mission brief in 15 minutes! What are you still doing out here!"

"Did you get the notice this morning?" Chouji asked, shoving the last handful of a bag of chips into his mouth.

Shikamaru rolled over and lifted his head to face his two former gennin-mates. "Nope. I've been out here most of the morning." He grumbled.

"I swear, I don't know how you handle being a jounin, you're so lazy." The blonde girl sighed, crossing her arms in aggrivation.

"Well, we should start heading over there guys. We don't want to keep the Hokage waiting." Chouji said, turning to leave.

"How about you guys go, and tell me about the mission afterwards, I'll be right here." Shikamaru replied, starting to settle back into his place on the ground.

A vein protruded from Ino's forehead. "Oh no you don't." She said, grabbing him by the collar of his flak jacket and dragging him back in the direction of the village, ignoring his protests and complaints.

"Ah, I see you actually decided to show up. Right on time." The Hokage said, turning in her seat and closing the large book on her lap, replacing it below her desk and clasping her hands on the desk before her. "I have an extremely important mission for you, in the country of rain. This is different than any of you are used to and I hope you're ready. This is an assassination mission."

Ino felt a pang of fear, but tried desperately to hide it, her teammates seemed to be fine.

"Assassination? Of who? Konoha hasn't taken an assassination job in years." Shikamaru said casually, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"He is an extremely powerful individual who has been hiring foreign ninja to kill members of our own fleet for the past few months. A spy has uncovered the list of attempted nin and future targets, and we're determined to halt these attempts at the source. Actually, this mission is centered around Ino and her mind ability, you two are to be sent as back up, I chose you because you all work so well together. This information was brought to us by a woman who has been involved with the target for a while, when we told her of you ability, she requested that Ino take over her body to kill the target, as she does not want any memory of the act. Shikamaru, you will, technically be the team leader, but will have to give Ino free reign when she enters into the climax of the mission."

Shikamaru nodded and glanced at Ino, who seemed to be fidgeting a bit more than usual, he was interrupted by the door opening and closing behind him.

The group turned to face a beautiful woman with brown hair and a full figure striding towards them, she stopped before them and introduced herself, bowing slightly. "It's my esteemed pleasure to meet all of you, I am Niomi, the wife of Tsugaya, the object of your mission."

"Wait a minute. " Ino blurted out. "You're his _wife_!"

Niomi lowered her head. "Technically, yes. But the man that you are going after is no longer my husband, he's….different. He's become a monster, obsessed with the thought of killing nin, the ones he thinks are the cause for his father's death. He was killed during a raid three years ago, an innocent bystander. I would rather him be stopped now than continue living like this. It would make me happier than anything." Ino nodded and Shikamaru placed a hand on the cowering girls' shoulder, trying to reassure her.

"I don't expect you to understand how I feel, but this man you'll see isn't the one that I love anymore. Tsunade-sama and I have come up with a plan to complete this mission. I assume that you are Ino-san, you are a great asset to our plan. Nobody would be able to get closer to him than me. Still, I do not want to be the one to kill him, outwardly he is still my husband. You will take over my body and complete the task for me." She said, her voice unwavering.

Tsunade cut in, breaking the tension. "Like I said, this is a crucial mission for Konoha, many of the future targets are here. Now, the rest of the details are in the mission description downstairs, go ahead and prepare, you leave tomorrow morning."

The group nodded and turned to leave.

"Ino! Wait, I would like to talk to you in private for a moment, please. The rest of you can go on ahead."

Ino turned slowly, giving a reassuring glance to her teammates as they closed the door behind them.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

* * *

Shikamaru and Chouji stood outside the building for quite a while, waiting for their teammate. After a few moreminutes, Chouji glanced at his watch. "Well, I have to get home, dinner will be ready soon and I have to prepare. Are you going to stay and wait?" He asked, beginning to walk back towards his home.

"It's troublesome, but I guess I will. She'd be mad if we both left." He replied casually.

CHouji made a sacractic smirk and began to leave, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya, man."

It was another ten minutes before he heard Ino shuffle down the stairs, he turned to greet her, only to see her features sullen and depressed, a look very rare for the Ino he knew.

"So…what did she have to say?" He asked curiously, still a bit taken aback at her expression.

Ino's eyes shot up to meet his, not realizing that Shikamaru was even there. She forced out a smile. "Oh, nothing important, just details and stuff. You didn't have to wait for me, I coulda made it alright on my own." She scoffed, shuffling by him.

'_Something is weird, she's bothered by this mission.' _He thought, watching her leave him behind. "I'll walk you, I have nothing better to do anyways." He said, catching up to her on the road.

"Boy, you really know how to make a girl feel important, Shika." She joked.

"So, are you okay, I mean, with this mission? You seem a little bothered."

Ino grinned fakely. "No, I mean, it is my first of this kind. Still, I know that my father did a lot of this kind of stuff in the spy unit. Tsunade said she'd refer me into it if this mission is successful. I guess I'm just nervous."

"You could refuse it, if you don't want to do it, you know."

They had reached her house and Ino stopped at her doorstep, turning to face him.

"There's no way that I would turn this mission down, it's important to me." And wordlessly, she pressed her lips to his cheek, and disappeared through the door.

Shikamaru just stood there on the stoop for a minute or two after the door clicked behind the blonde kunochi, letting the event set in. His cheeks blushed and he turned back in the direction of his own house, his walk a bit lighter than it had been in a while.

Ino lie on her bed, gazing at the little picture on her nightstand. Within the tiny frame was a photo of team 10, right after Shikamaru had made jounin.

_**/flashback/**_

"Ino, I want to stress to you just how important this mission is. Some people very close to you are on the targeted list, including Nara Shikamaru."

In had felt a pang go down her spine again, disbelieving of what she heard.

"It's true, the target knows about Konoha's top strategist, along with Huuga Neji, Uzumaki Naruto and Rock Lee. All of them were mentioned in the list. I want you to know just how vital of a part you play in the future of all of these men. Also, after the mission is complete, Niomi has requested that she be left behind, I expect she doesn't want to return and to stay with her husband."

"I understand."

"I know that this is your first mission of this sort and I just want you know that you will compete it at all costs, it will be vital for your induction into the spy unit as well."

Ino stood silent for a minute, then raised her head to answer. "I will, Hokage-sama."

_**/end/flashback/**_

A tear squeezed out of her eye as she thought of her genius teammate. The time had long past since she had given up hope on her previous crush, Uchiha Sasuke, and she was beginning to realize her hidden feelings for her childhood friend.

_'I've got to complete this mission. I won't let anything happen to any of them. I won't let anything happen to…him.'_ She thought, before dozing off.

* * *

The following morning started off without a hitch, everyone showed up on time and prepared. Ino remained silent again, making her teammates concerned again, it took a while to convince them she was alright and had only skipped breakfast from lack of time. Tsunade met the party at the gate, sending them off with the best of luck. "Remember, there is always the possibility of an ambush, so be on alert while Ino is completing the mission. Protect her body at all costs and be cautious of anyone." She warned. Shikamaru nodded and jumped into the nearest tree, signaling for his team to follow.

Niomi rode horseback while the other three nin walked (or ran) alongside her, on the ground or in the trees.

They traveled quickly and reached the halfway point early and took a longer break for lunch.

Chouji and Niomi laughed at a few silly jokes made by Shikamaru, Ino only grinned. They ate a small portion each, not wanting to run out of food. Later, Shikamaru took a quick nap and Chouji busied himself with a map, and Niomi pulled Ino closer to talk.

"I wanted to discuss your plan with you…I mean…once you take my body over. Have you planned anything yet?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you a bit also, to learn some things about your husband. What should I expect, coming home to him? Is there anything I should know, do or say?"

"Well, he thinks I'm visiting my sick father in the sand country, if that makes a difference. But about my husband...He's a very….physical being now. Chances are, that he'll throw you…er, me up against the wall, rather harshly and begin trying to sleep with 'us'. That you can definatly expect, since I've been away for more than a week. Don't worry though, you won't have to do anything, he'll mess around for a while before he actually gets down to the most intimate part. Unfortunately, you'll just have to sit back and let him for a while till then. Chances are that someone will come in with a report and they'll keep coming until he tells them not to disturb him anymore for the night, that will be your cue, you're safe from there on." She said.

"Right. Did you have any preference that you would like me to consider? I mean, when I do it..." Ino asked meekly.

Niomi hesitated and thought for a moment.

"No, I don't care how it's done, I just want it to be quick. I don't want him to linger in death for too long. I couldn't bear it if he was made to suffer." she whispered, a tear streaming down her cheek.

Ino nodded, a concerned look on her face. She reached out to grasp the girls' hand when she felt someone grasp her own shoulder.

Shikamaru loomed over her, shaking his head, telling her to leave Niomi alone and let her cry.

He knelt down and firmed his grip on her shoulder. "We'll need to leave soon, if we want to get there by nightfall." he said as quietly as possible before releasing her and walking off to join Chouji with the map.

"Niomi-san? I'm sorry, but we really should be moving on now. We want to get to the camp before nightfall." She said consolingly, helping her to her feet.

Niomi smiled at the blonde as she mounted her horse, gazing at her lovingly. "Thank goodness it's going to be someone like you, Ino-chan."

They continued their pace towards the camp where their target was staying for the night. Upon arriving, Shikamaru chose a small clearing for them to hide well enough to protect Ino's body and make a quick getaway if needed.

They all sat and rested, waiting for the right time, no one saying a word.

"Alright," Niomi broke the silence with her gentle whisper. "The guards should be letting up by now, it's a good time." Everyone nodded and moved into position, Ino directly in front of Niomi, ready to make the transfer.

"Before you go…I just want to apologize for anything my husband might do to you during this mission. He used to be gentle, but now…" She trailed off, beginning to tear up again.

"I understand. I'm mature enough to handle it, I promise. Shikamaru?"

Shika turned to meet her terrified gaze, concern spreading across his features in response.

"I…just…Take care of me, okay? I want a body when I come back, you hear?" She said, forcing another smile out.

She faced Niomi again and formed the seals.

"Ninpou, Shintensen no Jitsu!"

Both of their bodies slumped to the ground, each caught by one of the waiting ninja. After a minute, Niomi's body twitched and rose from the ground, animated like a corpse.

Ino/Niomi patted herself down and ran her hands over her curves, examining her new 'home'.

"She's so light, even with these." She said, cupping 'her' breasts. Ino felt a slight pang throughout her body. "Yet, she aches all over, like she's covered in bruises or something, but I don't see anything. Between my legs is throbbing in pain." She said, almost horrified at the words coming from her mouth.

Shikamaru blushed slightly but shook it away, taking on a serious tone.

"I don't like this. Be extremely careful, Ino. I don't want to even think about how she got to feel like that. Take care of yourself." He said obviously concerned, and holding Ino's lifeless body to his chest.

"Yes, Shikamaru's right. This guy doesn't exactly sound like the model husband. Be careful." Chouji added.

Ino touched both of her friends on the shoulder, reassuring them and took off into the night, heading for the camp.

* * *

An hour had passed now and Shikamaru had taken to twiddling his fingers, his signature movement when he was nervous, yet he still held onto Ino's limp body tightly, barely letting it hit the ground. Chouji noticed and placed a reassuring hand on his friend's forearm, halting the nervous movement. "She's fine, look." he pointed down at the girl's contented expression. "Not bleeding anywhere or anything, right?" He said, almost jokingly.

Shikamaru smiled slightly, raising his head and adjusting Ino's weight in his lap.

"You still haven't told her, have you?" Chouji chuckled, sitting down across from his friend.

Shikamaru also laughed. "Naw, I just can't seem to get the words right. Or the timing. I don't know how long it'll take me at this rate."

"Well, if a genius can't find the right words, I think all us men are doomed." His friend said, leaning back onto a nearby tree.

Shikamaru smiled and looked back down at the girl in his arms, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

_'Maybe when you get back into your body…I'll…'_ His thought was halted by a trickle of blood emerging from her closed lips, followed by the appearance of a large, red mark on her neck.

"I-Ino!" Shikamaru gasped, wiping the blood away, glancing at Chouji, who was rushing over.

'I hate this! I feel so helpless, all I'm suppost to do is sit here and wait! Fuck that!' "Chouji! Take her! I'm going to go see what's going on down there!" He said, handing the girl over to his friend. When her form had left his arms her turned and began to sprint in the direction of the camp, only to come face to face with the sharp point of a kunai.

"Nara Shikamaru? What a surprise, I didn't actually expect you to come to me. The master will be very pleased." And the nameless ninja lunged at him, kunai barely missing his neck.

Shikamaru took out his own kunai, preparing for the fight.

_'I'm coming, Ino!'

* * *

I'm sorry for ending so abruptly, but I needed to go to bed, Unfortunatly, I won't be updating for at least a week, I'll be in CALIFORNIA!_

Still, that doesn't mean you att get to slack! I ecpect at least 15 reviews by the time I get back!

Next chapter is going to be good too! REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

So, the slightly long-awaited chapter 2! You guys all suck, I didn't even get my 15 reviews! Lazy!

Still, thanks to all of you that did review, I absolutly love hearing from you, actually, if you guys didn't review, I'm not sure I would've ever gotten around to finishing this! I **really** like the way this chapter came out, it's a little violent and stuff, but I think you all can handle it! **WARNING-**Anyone who minds **mild sexual content** and **moderate violence,** **LEAVE NOW!**

I tried to keep the characters IN character, hope you all like it!

* * *

Shikamaru's battle raged on, both nin attacking with their few remaining kunais, a few other discarded, slightly bloody weapons littering the floor. 

"**This**, from Konoha's top strategist! Your mind doesn't seem to be all in one place tonight, does it, genius?" The nin cackled, sending a wave of shuriken down upon Shikamaru, followed by an exploding tag.

'_Shit_!'

Shikamaru dove out of the way and into a nearby tree to escape the blast. He glanced back at Ino, now laying almost defenseless near Chouji, who also had his hands full with another assailant. His eyes widened as a shuriken buried itself into her arm.

He glared furiouslyat his opponent, who was laughing madly at his little joke.

"Is _that_ what's distracting you? That woman? Maybe I should just kill her, so you won't worry anymore? Then you can fight seriously." He joked, twirling a kunai in his fingers and throwing it in the direction of the unconscious girl.

Shikamaru jumped towards Ino, the kunai impaling his forearm as he barely managed to shield her.  
He winced at the pain and noticed the blood splattered on her face, his blood. He moved to wiped it off when he felt three more kunai dig deep into his back and arm. He screamed in pain and slowly reached behind him to remove the weapons from his back, wincing as they sprang loose. He felt his warm blood ooze from his deep, open wounds, flowing freely under his netting shirt. He was burning with anger and pain, but seriously doubted that he would have the strength to perform any of the plans formulating in his head.

He had to do something, though, for Ino's sake.

* * *

Ino strolled causiously down the corridor leading to the room where Tsugaya resided, waiting for the return of his wife.  
She entered through one of the large double doors and quickly scanned the room, looking for the target. 

She found him sitting at a desk in the corner of the room, his feet propped up un a stool, sharpening a small knife. He looked up to meet her gaze for a moment, then sheathed the blade and tossed it onto the desk before him. "Good trip?"  
He asked, slightly sarcastically, as he began to walk up to her, an evil grin spread across his features.  
Ino nodded, trying desperatly to keep calm.  
"Good." Was all he said before forcefully taking her hand and tugging her further into the room. He flung her into a sitting position on the desk and sat down before her.

"Things have been going well here. We're about to set one of the more major jobs into action. If all goes well, we should get rid of a few of those Konoha nin. I'd even be happy with just one."  
Ino stiffened. "A-any one in particular?" She asked, trying to sound convincingly interested.  
"Not really, the strategist would be nice, or that Byakugan user. Any one of them would be good out of the way." He said casually, cupping her chin tightly. "I missed you. None of the other girls around here are as tempting as you are." He grunted, running his other coarse hand up her thigh, obviously not caring if he was being too rough.

At that moment, a guard entered, carrying a scroll and placing it on the desk. Tsugaya completely ignored him and resumed his explorations, now beginning to scratch the surface of her skin, making her wince a bit.

Ino's mind raced, Niomi had said to wait until he told them not to be disturbed, but he was already getting feisty.

Before she knew it, he pushed all of the papers and weapons on the desk onto the floor and grabbed her by the knees, pulling her down and to the end of it violently, causing a trickle of blood to escape her lips as she bit down on them. He was now standing between her legs, still scratching her as he began to tear at her dress. Ino let out a small squeak of surprise at his sudden actions, not knowing how to react.

_'THIS is how he treats his **wife**?' _

He kissed her neck furiously, biting every so often, Ino was sure he was close to drawing blood.

Thankfully, they were interrupted a second time, this time by two nin, obviously rushing to report something important.  
"What the hell is it? Can't you see I'm busy?" Her assailant shouted at the two men.  
"Sir, one of our scouts has found a few Konoha nin on the outskirts of the camp, a report says that one of them is a target, the strategist. The other man is unfamiliar and he seems to have an unconscious woman with him."

Ino felt a pang run through her as she heard the blast of an exploding tag in the distance and felt a slight pain in her arm, they had found them! What was she going to do now? She began to fidget against the man above her, trying to think of what to do. Her mind wandered to the knife he had been sharpening on the floor, and she tried to reach for it, as inconspicuously as possible.

"And you felt that you needed to bother me? You should know what to do. Once he's dead, bring his body to me. They can kill the others too, if they want. Now leave me alone, I don't want to be disturbed again, you understand?"  
The two nin nodded and disappeared.

Just as Ino was about to reach the knife when she felt Tsugaya's hand slam unto her wrist, stopping her attempt. She gritted her teeth and looked up to face his narrow, glaring eyes.  
"Now, now. You wouldn't happen to know why those nin are out there, would you, darling?" He asked, almost spitting the words, the grip on her wrist tightening.  
Before Ino had time to react, his other hand slapped across her face, causing more blood to spurt from her mouth.  
Not knowing what else to do, Ino balled her other hand into a fist and brought it up to his face, causing him to roll off of her unto the floor, him grabbing the knife she was originally reaching for as he began to rise again.  
Ino scrambled off the desk and sprinted across the room, grabbing a katana hanging on the wall, unsheathing it and turning to face her opponent.  
He lunged at her, raising the knife above her head. She parried it, sending the blade spinning across the room and into a wall.  
Now unarmed, Tsugaya knelt before his wife, arms spread, his expression soft and pitiful. "Niomi, darling. You don't really want to kill me do you? I've never done anything but love you." Ino raised the blade above her, her arm shaking.  
"Please, Niomi. Things have been rough, but I still love you." He said, his eyes beginning to water.

'_Is he faking…?' _She thought, holding the blade suspended above him, still shaking furiously.

* * *

Shikamaru was reaching his limit. This ninja moved too fast for him to catch in his shadow bind alone and he was loosing too much blood to concentrate properly.  
He had to end this, fast, and before anymore enemies arrived. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Chouji deliver the final blow to his own opponent and rush over to check Ino. He pulled the shuriken from her arm and checked her pulse. After determining that she was alright, he motioned a thumbs up and lifted her body, replacing it under the cover of some bushes.  
Shikamaru turned back to his opponent, who was also obviously at his end, breathing heavily. Chouji joined him, armed with a few shuriken. "What's the plan? We need to get out of here, fast." He said, glancing over at his friend. Shikamaru's eyes were beginning to blur, but he forced himself to think. 

Wordlessly, he formed the seals for a kage bunshin, now six Shikamaru's stood in a line beside eachother. The group all formed another set of seals and shouted, in unison,

"Ninpou, Kage Mane no Jitsu!"

A wave of shadows spread across the ground, each heading for the nameless nin before them. The target darted about, trying to evade, but it wasn't long before one of the shadows caught him. With a 'pop', the shadow replications disappeared and only Shikamaru was left, still holding his jitsu.

He was breathing heavily but still managed to form the remaining seals and whisper; "Ninpou, Kage Kubi Shibari no Jitsu." A hand appeared and began to strangle the nin, until he fell to his knees, gasping for air.

Shikamaru weakly nodded to Chouji who doubled the size of his hand and brought it down upon the defenseless ninja, instantly breaking the majority of the bones in his body, he crumpled to the floor in a heap, as did the exhausted Shikamaru, his shadow retreating back to normal size.

"Shikamaru!" Chouji rushed to turn his friend over, examining him. He quickly set to work dressing his many wounds as best he could.

* * *

Ino began to bring the blade down, closing her eyes, when she felt herself stop.  
Inside her head, she heard a voice say, _"I can't, Ino-chan. I can't do it…"_ She felt hot tears stream down her cheeks as she began to lower the sword to her side. 

Tsugaya ginned and lunged at her, seeing the open opportunity.

Ino noticed his movement and moved to block from reflex, forgetting that he wasn't armed.

In a swift motion, she swung the blade across his oncoming form. Unable to stop, the sword impaled him, sending a stream of blood unto Ino's trembling form.

She gaped at Tsugaya, blood flowing from the gaping wound in his chest, as he fell to the floor, gasping. Ino's grip on the sword loosened until it fell to the floor, landing at her feet with a _'clank'_, yet she continued to gaze, wide-eyed at the horrific scene unfolding before her. This was the first time she had seen someone dying before her eyes and she found the whole experience...absolutly terrifying.

Inside her head, she heard the internal wails of Niomi as she stared at the writhing man before her.

Suddenly, she remembered about Shikamaru and Chouji and tears flowed from her eyes as she moved to cancel her technique. _'Cancel!'_

Her mind lingered in the room for a moment before departing. She watched as Niomi, now back in control of her body knelt over her husbands' form, near death.

Hardly able to contain her tears, she took the discarded blade, still wet with her husbands' blood and raised it above her head. The last thing Ino saw as her mind departed was Niomi, bladeracing towardsher own chest, tears streaming down her face and mixing with the pool of blood she knelt in.

* * *

I know, I know. Cliffhanger...again. It's not over, but this is a really sad fic. It'll get better, I promise, it's sad but not tragic. (For the protagonists, I mean. Obviously it's pretty tragic for Niomi and her husband...) I've already started on the next chapter, which may end up being the last one, I haven't decided yet...You'll just have to keep reading! 

Please review, It really does make me update faster, knowing that people are actually looking forward to reading my fics. Thank you, minna!


	3. Chapter 3

Hello to everyone again! I bet you all thought I'd died or something, huh! Nope, still kickin'! UI did have some serious writers-block though. winks at Hlomondodeli Majoribanks

But I'm back now! This is the second-to-last chapter in the series. Actually, I've been writing them as one chapter, but it got a little too long, so i decided to split them! (The other one should be right behind this one though, don't worry!)

Thanks to all of you that reviewed, I really read every one of them, and I encourage you to continue! (It makes me want to keep writing and start new stories!)

Now, on with this fic, remember, I don't own any of the characters, I just mess around with 'em! Don't sue me for anything you don't like!

* * *

Slowly, Ino's eyes fluttered open, trying to regain her consciousness. Her head was throbbing; it had been a long time since she had left her body for so long.

She shot up for her position on the ground, despite her headache, remembering the situation at hand. She was surprised to find herself under a bush and had to crawl to get back into the open air. She glanced down at the wound on her arm, wincing at the slight pain.

Her thoughts shot back to Shikamaru and Chouji and she frantically scanned the clearings for them. It didn't take long for her to find them and take off in a wobbly sprint in their direction. Shikamaru was on the ground, apparently unconscious, and Chouji was removing the wrappings from his hands, probably to use them to patch his friend up a bit. Ino stumbled to his side, glancing quickly at her unconscious friend on the ground. Chouji had turned him on his side and was attempting to stop the bleeding of the wounds in his back, when he noticed the blonde at his side.

"Ino! You're back! What happened, did you-"

"Mission accomplished…" She interrupted, beginning to remove her own leg wrappings and replacing them on Shikamaru's wounded arm. She pulled the knot tight, sighing as blood continued to seep through.

"We need to get back to Konoha. He won't make it with just these simple bandages…" Chouji said, standing andbeginning to form seals to enlarge his body. "I don't know how long I can hold out like this, but I'll carry you two back, you keep bandaging him, try and get the bleeding to stop."

Chouji's form increased in size and Ino struggled to lift the still unconscious Shikamaru into his enormous hands, resting his head in her lap as gently as she could.

Chouji staggered back in the direction of the village as Ino continued to administer emergency treatment to Shikamaru's many wounds.

For the briefest of moments, Shikamaru opened his eyes, wincing at the pain, and looked into Ino's tear-filled eyes. She smiled at him before his world faded into darkness again.

They arrived at the gates of Konoha, Chouji collapsing exhaustedly before the guards, not able to continue with his jitsu any longer. Ino, being the only one still fully conscious, assisted in taking the men to the hospital, where they were treated, together, by Sakura. Another medical nin treated her small wounds as she waited outside the emergency treatment room.

It didn't take long for Sakura to emerge, smiling faintly.  
"They're both fine, just depleted of a good amount of chakra. Shikamaru had a few broken ribs, which I healed, and they both have a couple cuts and bruises, but nothing serious. They should be fine with a few days rest."  
Ino sighed and stood, entering the room and gazing at her two comrades in silence, the only sound being the beeps of their vitals on the machines.  
She sat down between the two beds; upon noticing Shikamaru's heavily bandaged torso, she felt a pang of guilt. "I'm sorry guys. This is all my fault, if I hadn't hesitated and hurried back, we could've gotten out of there faster…" A tear squeezed from her eye as two of Tsunade's assistants entered the room.

"Yamanaka Ino?" She nodded in response, quickly wiping the escaped tear from her cheek.

"We are here to request that you report to the Hokage for a mission report as soon as possible."  
Ino sighed and stood, signaling her understanding. The three of them departed for the Hokage's office in silence.

* * *

"So…what's the report?" Tsunade asked, motioning for her to sit down.  
"Mission accomplished, the target has been taken care of. Shikamaru and Chouji were intercepted by some ninja guards and fought. Both of them are in recovery, they just need rest, nothing serious."  
"Good. And the client? Niomi? What happened with her?"  
Ino's head lowered, hesitating.  
"After the mission was completed and I had left her body, I lingered in the room and witnessed her suicide, or the beginnings of it at least."  
Tsunade folded her hands on her desk. "I see. I had a feeling that would be the outcome, she had expressed an intent to take her own life to atone for her husband."  
Ino began to cry, her tears flowing freely for a moment before she forced them to a stop.  
"This has been your first mission of this sort; it's understandable for you to feel remorse or regret. You need to let these emotions out, don't try to hide them; they will tear you apart otherwise. Based on the mission's success, I am going to refer you into the spy unit as you requested. That is, of course, if you still wish it…"  
Ino looked back up at the woman before her, nodding determinedly.  
"Very well. Congratulations on your successful mission, Ino. I'm giving all three of you a mission reprieve for the time being, until I see fit. Get some rest. You're dismissed."

* * *

It was another few days before Shikamaru awoke in the hospital. It took him a few moments to remember what had happened as he looked around his surroundings. Chouji was still beside him, reading a book, until he noticed his friend making glances around the room, his eyes lingering on the bouquet of lilacs on his bedside table. Chouji closed the book and turned to face his friend, a gentle smile spread across his face. "Hey."  
"Hey. How long was I out?"  
"Well, you passed out on the mission, and we've been in the hospital for four days."  
Shikamaru shot up in his bed, wincing at the slight pain it caused all over his body. "Ino! What happened to Ino?" He asked, grasping his shoulder above his healing wounds.  
"She's fine, the mission was a success and she made the report. She only had a couple of scrapes and bruises, but otherwise made a complete recovery on the journey back here. She was here only yesterday."

Shikamaru took a moment to let everything sink in before he made a move to get out of the bed. Chouji raised his hands in an attempt to stop him, "Whoa, wait a minute! You're not in any condition to be moving yet, Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru stumbled out of the bed and towards the door, his vision blurring as blood rushed to his head at his sudden movements. It didn't take long for him to collapse onto the floor, soon to be scooped up and forced back into the hospital bed by a passing nurse.  
"Dammit, I need to talk to Ino! What happened on the mission? Did she tell you anything?"

"She's fine, I'm telling you. She just doesn't want to talk about the mission to anyone, she avoids the subject. She says she wants to wait until you're awake. I didn't want to push her. She should be coming back later today, I suggest you sleep until then. Maybe you'll be able to leave by the end of the day or tomorrow."

Shikamaru sighed and laid back into the pillow, trying to relax.  
"Something must've happened, she'd have no other reason not to tell us."  
"We won't know until she does decide to tell us, it might just take some time."  
Shikamaru settled back into his bed, drifting back to sleep.

"…Yeah."

As Chouji predicted, Ino stopped by again that afternoon, just a few hours before the sun had set. She entered carrying another large bouquet of flowers; daffodils this time, she set them on the table between the two beds. The sound of her and Chouji's muffled voices woke Shikamaru from his sleep, Chouji was right, he felt a thousand times better!  
"I-Ino?"  
"Shikamaru! Chouji was just telling me that you'd woken up!" he said gleefully, rising from her seat between them and hugging him gently.  
"How are you feeling?" She asked, returning to her chair.  
"Fine, considering there were a couple holes in my back."  
Ino laughed at his sarcasm.  
"Well, you seem to be doing much better."

They chatted about random things for a while, the weather, the latest gossip and Ino's boredom with the flower shop, until Shikamaru finally got the courage to ask…"So…What happened with the mission? Did everything go okay?"  
Ino's face lost it's former color and her smile faded. "It was accomplished, that's all." She mumbled, her gaze focused on the floor.  
"I know that, but tell us what happened. We weren't there, you know." Shikamaru said, sitting up in his bed with a serious expression on his face.

"We just want to know what happened and if there's anything you need to talk about, Ino." Chouji said, trying to sound consoling.  
"N-nothing else happened, I just…did it."  
"And Niomi-san? Did she stay behind?"  
Ino fought back a tear and choked out a single word.

"Yes..."

"Well, what else happened, that guy didn't try to do anything to you, did he?" Shikamaru continued to pry, his face dark.

Ino shot out of her seat, her fists clenched at her side. "I should be getting home now, dinner should be ready soon. I'll see you guys soon. The receptionist said they're going to release you tomorrow, maybe. Feel better."  
She bolted out the door, a step shy of a run and left both men speechless in their beds.

"Nice. Way to be considerate. I told you she didn't want to talk about it."  
"Something happened while she was in Niomi's body. He did something to her. I have to know what." Shikamaru said, clenching his fists around his blanket tightly.

* * *

The next day, it was raining furiously, streets were beginning to overflow and the water seemed to be attacking the panes of Shikamaru's window, disturbing his concentration on the shougi game he was playing with CHouji for most of the morning. (Or at least that's what he blamed it on, we all know he was thinking about Ino!)

Around mid-afternoon, a nurse came in and announced their release from the hospital. Cleaned clothes, a last dose of medicine and soldier pills were given to them, and both men headed down the long corridor towards the exit.  
"You going to go see her?" Chouji asked as they walked down the corridor.  
"It's troublesome, but I should. I wasn't exactly sweet yesterday, and I don't want her mad at me, that's even more troublesome."

Chouji smirked, "Yes, it wouldn't help your situation any either." Chouji smirked as they neared the door.  
They both sighed, watching the rain drizzle down before departing in separate directions for their destinations, waving.

_'She'd probably be either at home or at the shop..._'

He thought as he hurried towards the Yamanaka residence, the slightly closer destination. When he reached it, he took a moment to smooth his damp clothes down and slick back a stray hair or two, realizing too late that it made no difference.  
He knocked and Mr. Yamanaka answered the door promptly.

"Nara-junior! I heard you were in the hospital, you look pretty good, considering."  
"Yeah, is Ino here?"  
"Ino? Nope, she's at the shop with her mom today. You should talk to her though, my poor baby has been very quiet since you guys returned. Something seems to be bothering her. She should be happy, being recommended for the spy unit and all."

Shikamaru hardly paid attention and began to make his way back out into the rain, muttering and quick 'Thanks' and 'Bye, Mr. Yamanaka.'

He quickened his pace now, getting annoyed at the damp state he was in, he reached the flower shop in a matter of minutes, the little bell tingling as he entered.  
However, instead of Ino sitting at the desk, Mrs. Yamanaka stood, tallying numbers into a book.  
Shikamaru sighed, "Is Ino here?"  
"Oh, hello Shikamaru, dear. No, I'm afraid not. She said she needed to go home, that she didn't feel like working today, she left about two hours ago. Did you try the house?"  
He nodded.  
"That's strange, she should be home by now. I hope she's alright, she'd catch a cold out in this rain."  
Shikamaru turned to leave once again. "Don't worry, I'll find her, Mrs. Yamanaka."  
"Thank you Shikamaru, dear."

He stood outside the shop for a moment, under the protective tent outside the door, thinking. _'Dammit, where else could she have gone?' _  
He thought and thought, finally deciding on one final place to go. He headed off for their old training spot, knowing that it was where Ino usually went when she was frustrated.

Dammit, he was really starting to get wet now.

* * *

Sorry everyone, that's the end of this chapter, but the other one is already done and will be uploaded tonight! Hope you can wait that much longer after my lack of updating! 

Review! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEASE! 19 just isn't enought for me!


	4. Chapter 4

YAY! Final chapter! (Well, yay for me, some of you guys are probably mad that it has to end!) --My wishful thinking.

Well, you know the drill, I don't own these characters...blah blah blah. Enjoy.

* * *

Shikamarureached the wet and slippery training spot, scanning the area for the blonde, noticing her hair waving in the corner, by the punching log.

He strolled up and took cover behind a nearby tree, watching her strike the pole with all her might. Tears were streaming down her face and her knuckles were bleeding, each hit sending a trail of blood running down the pole, mixing with the rain; yet she continued to hit, not noticing the pain it must've been causing.

After a while, she stopped punching and started kicking, each '_crack_' of her leg hitting the pole sent a shiver down Shikamaru's spine. She put all her remaining strength into a final kick, the sound of her hit echoing across the training ground.

Ino fell to the ground, clutching her bleeding shin.  
"Ino!" Shikamaru emerged from his hiding space and rushed to her side. "What the hell are you trying to do, break your leg!" He shouted, trying to look at her leg.

She pulled away from him, avoiding his attempts to help. "Just leave me alone!" She cried, trying to bolt away from him, falling in the mud.

He grabbed her shoulders, turning her to face him. He couldn't stand seeing her like this, soaking wet, muddy, bleeding and tears still streaming down her face. She fell against his chest, continuing to sob and he slowly wrapped a supportive arm around her. He let her cry for a while, then scooped her up, walking back to the village.

"Let's get you home, you're going to catch a cold, if you haven't already."

She sniffled against him, but made no attempt to stop him, Shikamaru figured she was too tired to even protest anymore.  
He reached her house and carried her up to her room, leaving so she could change into dry clothes and he could explain things to Inoshi.

"I see, Ino's not very good at letting out her emotions, thanks for bringing her home."

Shikamaru turned go back up to her room, knocking before entering.

He found her sitting on her bed, her knees tucked firmly to her chest.  
Shikamaru sat down at the end of the bed and sighed.  
"Now, tell me everything. Something is obviously bothering you and you need to tell me about it, you can't just go hit a pole until your hands bleed to feel better."  
Ino sniffed, trying to keep from crying again.  
"Is it something about the mission? Did something happen after you left us?"  
Ino nodded but made no start to tell him details.  
"Ino, tell me."  
"She didn't want me to do it. In my mind, she told me she couldn't go through with it, that she still loved him."  
"Niomi-san? She wanted to abort the mission?" He asked, sounding concerned.  
"Yes, but he attacked me again, I defended but my sword cut him, blood was pouring from him, it was unbearable…Niomi was screaming in my head…" She paused. "I can still hear her in my head, all the time. I can hear her crying. After I left her body she…"

Tears were beginning to flow again; Shikamaru took her hand and wiped her face with the corner of his damp sleeve, not making any difference. "What, Ino?"

"She took up my sword and raised it above her chest…that was the last thing I saw before I returned. She killed herself, Shikamaru, all for a man that abused her. He was horrible to her, yet she still loved him!"

She was crying again, Shikamaru held her, not knowing what else to do.  
"I knew you shouldn't have taken that mission. I didn't think you'd be ready to kill people yet."  
"How can _you_ do it, Shika? Why don't you think like I do? Think about the families and friends that those people have at home, waiting for them… I don't know what I would do if anyone I knew was killed, especially you and Chouji."

"You shouldn't think about that though, Ino."

"It's all I can think about now. Coming home, all I could think about, as you laid there unconscious was '_What if he never wakes up?_' I don't know what I would do, Shika."

It had been a long time since she had called him by his childhood nickname…

He understood, almost too well, what she meant. A ninja's life was all too unpredictable. Missions were dangerous and ninja were killed almost daily, hospitals were rarely not busy. What would he do if Ino never came back, if she was gone before he got to tell her his feelings?

He didn't want to live the rest of his life without her…

"I know what you mean, Ino. If you and Chouji were to not come back from a mission, I would go crazy."  
Ino nodded against him, signaling that she understood.  
"There are so many things that I need to tell you before our time is gone… and I don't want time to pass by me."  
Ino looked up to meet his gaze, tears still clinging to her eyelashes.

"Niomi must've really loved her husband, regardless of how he acted. She probably clung to the times they spent together happily before he lost his human compassion. She wanted to be with her husband, even after he died, hoping that he would become his old self in heaven. I think that what you when you love someone, you cherish the good times, and do anything to make them last. She couldn't stand to see him like he was, she loved him too much. She made her choice, Ino, it wasn't your fault."

"Do you think I could've saved her? Should I have tried harder?"  
"It's what she wanted, Ino. If anything, you gave her her final wish, you let her be with her husband again. I'm sure she's happy now, with him, in heaven." Shikamaru settled  
After a few momants, Ino smiled weakly, beginning to understand.  
"Since when were you so deep, Shikamaru?" She asked, snuggling into his arms.  
He blushed and cleared his throat, "Shut up, I just want you to feel better. That's close to what my mom told me after my first kill. I felt just as horrible and she told me that this is the life I chose and I should always fight for it if I want to live to see people I care about again."

"Have you ever been scared that...you were going to die, Shika?"  
"Only a few times, but I always think about the ones waiting for me and how much I want to just get home."

Ino paused to think for a while, enjoying being held like she was. She loved feeling Shikamaru's chest rise and fall as he breathed, hearing the beat of his heart ever so faintly beneath his damp chuunin vest. She thought about how unbearable her life would be without him being there to comfort her whenever she felt sad. He had always been there, supporting her as a friend and teammate…why had she never noticed before how reliable he was?

"Shika?" She looked up at him, meeting his relaxed eyes for a moment.  
"Yeah?"  
"What was the thing you wanted to tell me? You know, before our time was gone, like you said?"  
Shikamaru fidgeted, running his hand over his pulled back hair, nervously. "Couldn't that wait till another time? It's a bit too troublesome to talk about right now…" He managed to say between stutters and voice-breaks.  
"Well, you said that you didn't want to loose time…So why not now?" She moved to face him, staring into his nervous eyes determinedly.  
Shikamaru made a move to get up, but he was halted by Ino taking his hands and forcing him back down again, continuing to stare at him.  
"Shikamaru, you made me talk to you, now I want you to talk to me too."  
The man sighed and sat silent, contemplating his words.  
"We've been friends for a long time, right?"  
Ino nodded.  
"Well, I've watched you fall over Sasuke for a long time and I wanted to know…do you still, you know…love him?"  
Ino sat back and crossed her arms. "I think I only liked Sasuke for a short time, really. After that, it was just a competition between Sakura and I. I don't love him. He'll always be hot, but I think that it's time for me to move on for good. But I don't see what that has to do with you…" She glared at him.

Shikamaru smiled, ever-so-slightly. "You'd be surprised…You see, since you've always been in love with somebody else, I kept my distance from you, thinking nothing would come from my troublesome efforts." Shikamaru leaned back against the wall, slouching, trying to hide his nerves. "It sucked…watching you hang all over him, when I wished you would pay even a little bit of attention to me. I think there's always been a part of me that liked you, since we were little kids. I tried to make the feelings go away, but nothing seemed to work. When I would see you falling all over Uchiha, there was a part of me that wanted to…crawl under a rock and just stay there, forever. It was miserable knowing that you'd never feel the same way about me as I felt about you."  
He looked up, to see her gazing at him and another blush crept onto his face as he turned away again.  
"Well, that's it. I told you it was too troublesome." He scooted to the edge of the bed and stood.  
"I'd better be going, I'm cold in these damp clothes…and-" He felt fingers entwine with his own, pausing his words.  
"Shika…I'm sorry that I never noticed...I think there's always been a part of me that thought about you too. Maybe that was why I never felt right hanging on Sasuke-kun. It still felt…empty. You've always been there, beside me, Shikamaru. I was just too stupid to notice."  
He turned to face her again, surprised to see that she was smiling, despite her still-teary eyes.  
Silently, she stood and hugged him, squeezing him gently around the neck.  
"We've already wasted so much time, huh?"  
Shikamaru returned the hug, wrapping his arms around her waist.  
"Yeah."

"Let's do things right, from now on." She kissed his lips tenderly and leaned her head back on his shoulder.

"Yeah…"

* * *

Life continued after that, Ino came to cope with her mission and decided to wait for her induction into the spy unit for awhile. The three received many more mission together, they were THE Ino-Shika-Cho after all! Chouji noticed that Shikamaru and Ino were different, sleeping slightly closer together, arguing much less, even sneaking little smiles at each other from across the campfires.

One not so very special mission, Chouji was finally able to pull his friend aside from the blonde, claiming to have something important to talk about.  
"Well, What is it Chouji?" Shikamaru asked, shoving his hands into his pockets casually.  
"So, you and Ino have been getting along pretty well lately, huh?"

Shikamaru was silent for a moment, eying his friend suspiciously before he closed his eyes and brought his arms up behind his head, trying to stay casual.  
"Yeah I guess so. It's just been too troublesome to argue anymore."  
Chouji chuckled slightly.  
"I see."  
He started back towards the camp.  
"About time you told her, congrats man."  
Shikamaru didn't even bother to act surprised, damn, it was impossible to fool that guy.

* * *

Well, that's it. THE END (unless I get bugged to make a sequel again...I don't even know where I'd start!)

Please let me know how you liked it! Reviews are like food for the writers imagination and motivation!

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